1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a method for virtually reproducing real movements of an object or objects by 2D measurement of positions of this object or objects, e.g., by means of 2D-video capture with the use of a web camera. More particularly, the method of the disclosure can be used for on-line registering, reproducing, and recording movements of human body parts, the dynamics of which depends on the human body structure, i.e., muscles, joints, etc. The proposed method may find use in fitness, gaming, simulation, manipulation of antropometric robots, sport and medicine, and namely in neurology, traumatology, orthopedics, pediatrics, gerontology, sports medicine, medical rehabilitation, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known in the art are many techniques and methods for recognizing and detecting spatial displacements of objects, based on different physical principles (magnetic field, sound and radio wave oscillation intensity of bioelectric potentials and so on) and their combinations. One of these methods is based on the principle of video capture. Video capture is a process of converting an analog video signal produced, e.g., by a video camera, to digital video signals. The resulting digital data are referred to as a digital video stream or simply video stream.
Methods and systems for conversion of 2D video data into 3D video data are known in the art. For example, US Patent Application Publication 20110096832 (Published in 2011, inventors Rong Zhang, et al.) discloses a depth map generation technique for conversion of 2D video data to 3D video data. The techniques may use a combination of motion and color considerations in the depth map generation process. For depth map initialization, initial depth values may be assigned to pixels of a video unit based on motion associated with the pixels relative to corresponding pixels of a previous video unit of a video sequence. Initial depth values that satisfy a threshold may then be adjusted, wherein the adjusted depth values are based on color associated with the pixels. An initialized depth map can then be generated for the video unit, wherein the initialized depth map comprises the initial depth values for a first subset of the pixels and the adjusted depth values for a second subset of the pixels. In some cases, the initialized depth map may be used as a final depth map without further processing, and in other cases, additional techniques may be applied with respect to the initialized depth map in order to define a final depth map.
Also known are methods and systems for monitoring and controlling motions and postures of a human body.
For example, US Patent Application Publication 20120108392 (published in 2012, inventors Jeffrey Chu, et al. discloses an apparatus, system and method for fall prevention training that deliver, study, and analyze the biomechanics of a disturbance event, such as a slip or trip incident, so that an appropriate response can be executed by the person to reduce or eliminate the number of falls experienced. The apparatus includes a platform that delivers a disturbance event in less than about 500 ms and preferably in the range of about 100 ms to about 200 ms. The method includes a unique protocol for fall prevention training using the apparatus. The disturbance event can create instability in the joint of the individual. An individual's walking gait can be monitored with the portions thereof detected. A disturbance event can be triggered when a given portion of the walking gait is detected. Also, the disturbance even can be triggered manually, at preset intervals or according to preset script.
US Patent Application Publication 20100176952 (published in 2010, inventors: Ruzena Bajcsy, et al.), incorporated herein by reference, discloses an approach for determining motions of a body using distributed sensors. In one embodiment, an apparatus can include: a plurality of sensors coupled to a body, where each sensor is positioned at about a designated location on the body, and where each sensor is configured to acquire motion data related to movement of the designated location on the body and at which the sensor is positioned, and to reduce the motion data into compressed and transmittable motion data; and a base station configured to receive the compressed motion data via wireless communication from at least one of the plurality of sensors, the base station being further configured to remove outlier information from the received motion data, and to match the received motion data to a predetermined action, where the predetermined action indicates a movement of the body.
However, the methods described above and any other methods known to the applicants do not provide sufficient accuracy in virtual reproduction of real movements of a human body as an object since they do not take into account the response time and specificity of such movements.